Castile-La Mancha seeks to provide medicines against respiratory viruses.The autonomous region government has launched a tender for supply Providing antibodies to newborns and infants in the region at a cost of €3.2 millionas described on the Community Recruitment Platform.
Specifically, it involves the provision of nisesetumab, a monoclonal antibody against the disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), intended for use in newborns and infants in Castilla-La Mancha of immunization. The contract period is the 2023-2024 season.
In adults and older children, respiratory syncytial virus infection may be asymptomatic or manifest as sinusitis or the common cold. Babies may also experience fussiness, difficulty breathing, and decreased activity.
Castilla-La Mancha launches the competition for the 2023-2024 season
RSV is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children under one year of age., especially illnesses related to bronchiolitis and pneumonia, as well as adults over 65 and people with at-risk conditions. Worldwide, it is the second leading cause of death in children under one year old.
In Spain, RSV infection causes severe overloading of primary care services and hospitals every winter, including emergency room visits, occupancy of inpatient floors and pediatric intensive care units.
On October 31, 2022, the European Commission authorized Beyfortus (containing the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab), for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in newborns and infants during their first season of exposure to the virus. In Spain, Sanofi is the company marketing the product.
There are currently more than thirty drug candidates to prevent RSV.
Despite research over the past fifty years, to date, only one authorized primary prevention strategy is available for use in a very small number of children under two years of age who are at high risk for severe disease. This strategy consists of the monoclonal antibody palivizumab (AstraZeneca’s Synagis), approved in the United States in 1998 and in the European Union (EU) in 1999, whose administration provides passive immunity, Therefore, infection can be prevented to a certain extent. VRS and its complications.
Currently, according to data from the Ministry of Health report Recommendations for the use of nirsevimab against respiratory syncytial virus in the 2023-2024 season July 2023, There are more than 33 drug candidates, including vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, for preventing RSV infection. Eight of these are being evaluated in Phase 36 clinical trials on October 31, 2022.
Castile and León is another community that recently reported that it will immunize its residents against the virus. The regional executive agency will invest a total of €2.8 million in the 2023-2024 campaign to combine immunoprophylaxis with the drug nirsevimab.